Emily Patton 101

Courtesy of Nika Fadul

“You stumble down your yellow brick road

Spinnin your shoes in the air, the air–

Then you hold your breath and count to nine

Hopin that soon somebody will find you, find you.”

I am staring down an empty hallway of  TCCW on Western Kentucky University’s campus. Occasionally a man with a foreign accent will come in and pass my desk  (as he just did) and other times I clear my throat,  ease the phone into my right hand on the second ring and say so rhythmically, “Office of yada-yada, this is Emily.” Say hi to my summer job.

The next two months seem so daunting. For starters, I am living on my own. Yes (scary thoughts). So in short that means living off of pizza rolls, eating the “Breakfast of Champions” (strawberry frosted Pop-Tarts), learning to love Ramen noodles, and truly appreciating the time I spend at home.

Every morning I am awake and ready to go by 7:55 A.M. and at the office by 8 A.M. sharp (and trust in this: waking up early hurts). Its not the best feeling to set an alarm each night before you close your eyes, but the money in my bank account is worth the painful process of opening my phone, then the main menu, organizer, and finally the alarms tab. I must note my summer’s have not normally been this way.

My “average” summer:

1. At home.
2. Horse-back riding every evening.
3. Swimming/laying out for the majority of the day.
4. A part-time 20 hr or so a week job.
5. Seeing friends every night.

This summer:

1. In Bowling Green.
2. Trying to make new friends and hoping to see my old friends every weekend I can.
3. Working 40 hrs. a week.
4. Soaking up an interior lights tan as a secretary.

Note the difference? But that’s okay, I think…

(Pause as I learn how to use the fax machine.)

Earlier my Mom sent me a message on Facebook (yes, my mom has a Facebook now…) that read, “I am so proud of you Emily. This job was a huge step for you and you are doing so well.” And sure that sounds like just something a mother would say, but I will hold on to it for a little while longer. I do not know how well I am doing, but she is right. This is a HUGE step for me. Living on my own. Making my own dinner every night. Two hours from the place I consider a colossal part of what makes me who I am…

A couple years ago, the thought of dropping off a job application terrified me. The possibility of attending an interview made me hyperventilate.  And for ages, I considered myself SO INDEPENDENT, but came to a rude awakening when that shiny flashy image in my head of myself [ me hopping in my yellow mustang convertible, my dark brunette hair down, speeding off into the sunset, not for a second glancing in the rear view mirror] was simply a falsehood. The portrait of that girl was not me at all. Oh no. I pull out of the driveway in a mid-nineties vehicle that often looks black, (yet really its green) and stare misty-eyed as I proceed in the distance, occasionally tapping the brakes. So it must have came as kind of a shock to my parents when I called rejoicing about accepting a summer job offer away from home. A shock not only to them, but to myself as well.

As classes met their conclusions of the spring semester, cars waited to be loaded for drive homes, and finals grade were posted, I was walking across campus by myself one afternoon and it hit me. The true fear smacked me in the face. The terror of being alone struck. I had only a few days to gather my thoughts, relax after classes, take a few deep breaths before I dove into summer employment. My time away from campus was short. I was originally given 5 days off, but received a phone-call from my boss a day early asking if it was at all possible, could I come into work early…. Not what you really want to hear…. AT ALL. I laughed later with my parents as I hurriedly packed, “My boss could ask me, ‘Do you want to come in on your day off? Do you want to organize this 50 year old office? Do you want to move to Asia?’  The answer is always yes. I want to do it!”

I did not have time to be nervous. Work would not wait for me to get over my longing to be home for the summer. [Note: Nothing is going to wait for you to be ready for it.]

But this heart piercing fear that I felt post acceptance of the job and observing my friends pack to head home somehow evolved into the need to arrive at work five minutes early each day and smile as I locked the office at 4:30 every afternoon. I found myself comfortable in my office chair, laughing with my boss, after work running a loop around campus waving at people I know, and having Tuesday night dinners at a work friend’s apartment.

To me the first year of college was the year I learned more than I wanted to know about myself… the good and bad, pretty and oh so ugly truths about myself. To name a few: I am addicted to football, (which I am so thankful my amazing roommate and neighbors accept my screaming rampage when a Manning interception is thrown). I like home. If my Hilltoppers Basketball podcast won’t upload, best leave me alone. I like to study when its dead quiet. The better my relationship is with God is the better I feel. Night classes make me grumpy. I love having a job. And many many more….  This summer has followed gracefully as a second act, contributing steadily to the countless discoveries that Western Kentucky University has unveiled for me about myself.  And as much as I look forward to Fridays, I have learned that I also look forward to the start of a new work week.

So I sit behind my desk recently informed that I will have my own name plate that reads with professionalism and maturity, “EMILY PATTON,” experiencing a summer quite unlike any other, and learning more than I ever thought with closed books, nonexistent homework assignments and outside of a classroom… and that’s more than okay. 

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